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The aarti is performed by gently waving lighted wicks, soaked in ghee candle before the murti of Bhagwan, together with the ringing of the bell, the beating of drums and a song that praises Him.

An Acharya is the head of a sampraday. He protects dharma, is a spiritual leader and guru, and initiates a satsangi into the sampraday. There are two Acharyas in the Swaminarayan Sampraday; one for northern India, and one for southern India.

“LIFE like a dome of many-coloured glass stains the white radiance eternity”- Says the English poet. Shelly in Adonais, an elegy in which he mourns the death of a young fellow-poet keats.

Gain Darshan of the Murtis at Bhuj Mandir and learn the brief history behind them.

Swaminarayan Bhagwan incarnated on earth, along with His dham and some of His muktas, to establish ekantik dharma, and grant kalyan to those who became His bhaktas.

Those were the days when large number of princely states were there in India. Quite a few of them used to promote music, art etc. in their courts. Once a group of musicians visited Junagadh, one of the important states in Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

The Lord has sixteen symbolic icons on His Lotus Feet, with nine cheens on His right foot and seven on His left foot. These cheens are unique to Almighty God and no other human being on the earth possesses such features. One can recognise Almighty God Supreme by observing His divine Lotus Feet.

The cosmos moves in a definite pattern, with mathematical precision, in a certain pre-chartered, abstract direction and like the zero hour, its destination is the same as its starting point.

Understanding the creation may seem like a huge task but when equipped with the correct sources and diagrams, it seems very logical and easy to understand.

We have all appreciated and seen the beauty of the new Bhuj Temple, but only few of us actually know the facts and figures behind this magnificent Temple.

Lord Shree Swaminarayan has explained in the Shikshapatri a daily routine for all of His followers. Devotees are commanded to perform Daily Pooja immediately after taking their morning bath.

In the Vachnamrut Sahajanand Swami mentions that one must do Dhyan of the supreme Lord to burn his Karan Sharir. 

Music is only a medium by which you go to sleep. Really and truly it is Bhagwan that allows us to rest peacefully and Bhagwan that wakes us up. We have served Him all day and remembered Him in the day. At night we rest with Him and therefore in Akshardham. Before sleeping, if we have thoughts not associated with Bhagwan, that would mean resting in Maya and therefore limiting our ability to truly rest. 

Faith is the foundation of all religions of the world. Faith begins where all reasoning ends. Faith can move mountains but mountains cannot move faith. You have faith because you have faith. Thus faith is both the cause and the effect.

When a person is born, he is born with the microcosm of God and with some condensed energy emanating from that microcosm. But when many persons leave this gross body, their souls instead of flying like the bullet are lost like the lifeless casing of the cartridge.

Guru mantra is a mantra given to devotees by Acharya Maharajshree. One should take this mantra when they have a steadfast belief in Bhagwan. When taking your Guru Mantra you must vow to follow 5 Vartman

In this ever changing world, what makes someone happy? Is it good health, money in the bank, modern computers, internet chatting, fame, a good family?

At some point, we may all have wondered what is Vikram Samvat?, Shukla Paksha?, Krishna Paksha?, etc...

Bhuj is one of the six places where Lord Shree Swaminarayan constructed the temple Himself. This divine thought of Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan alone signifies the vast amount of spirituality the land of Kutch offered not only in the past but even today.

One who resides in the heart, is alone and subtle, is also all conscious, is the knower, is pervading all over the body by means of His power and good knowledge and bares characteristics such as indivisible, invulnerability, and it eternality etc.

Kanthi, a necklace of bead worn around the neck, is the symbol of our surrender to the creator of this universe, the supreme almighty. The kanthi is the best symbol of one’s surrender, as it gives us the ultimate feeling of oneness with God.

The aarti is performed by gently waving lighted wicks, soaked in ghee candle before the murti of Bhagwan, together with the ringing of the bell, the beating of drums and a song that praises Him.

Nilkanth Varni was on Vanvicharan. He just arrived in Loj. He was 18 years and 4 months old. Here, He met Muktanand Swami, a very able, learned and trusted disciple of Shri Ramanand Swami.

Lord Shree Swaminarayan propagated the teachings of the Vedic Dharma and stressed on the importance of Dharma, Bhakti, Gnan and Vairagya.

Mala inspires devotees to remember Shreeji Maharaj at least once a day especially when we remain busy with worldly affairs; though do you know the significance of 108 beads? How it should be done?

Mansi Pooja or mental worship is a kind of worship in which the devotee serves Maharaj as if Maharaj is standing before the devotee.

BHAGAWAN SWAMINARAYAN” – this word is simple to chant but it has very deep meaning. It is a combination of 4 elements . . . . 1. BHAGAWAN, 2. SWAMI, 3. NAR, 4. AYAN.

The measurement of time in Hindu cosmology could seem mind boggling due to the numbers involved, but once understood, everything fits into place and makes sense.

Good mothers are like gardeners that grow the beautiful fragrant flowers and most luscious fruits. Great men and women in all fields of society are created, molded and inspired by their mothers.

In the Vacahanamrut (G.P.38, Sarangpur 18), Sahajand Swami has told his devotees to keep a journal of their time in Satsang from day one. We should be keeping an account of how much 'vasna' or desire we have Satsang so we can stop and look where we are AND look back and reflect on how much we have improved and in what areas.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan initiated approximately 3,000 sadhus in His time. Of those, 500 were known as ‘nand santo’ or paramhansas. Their names ended with ‘nand’, i.e., Brahmanand, Premanand, Muktanand, Shukanand, and Gunatitanand. These paramhansas passed 108 different tests of austerities and hardships.

There are 11 Niyams that are recited in Nirvikalp Uttam Ati. Which should be followed, as they relate to Dharmas that Swaminarayan Bhagwan has written in the Shikshapatri. These 11 niyams with reference to the Shikshaparti Shlok are as...

We may ask someone: 'Brother, how much is your wealth? He would reply: 'May be rupees fifty thousand, ten lacks, two crores, apart from so many bungalows, so many cars etc. But in most of the instances such wealth may lead to murders, bungling and scams.

Everybody wants to possess more money than the other person and when he has it, he is not satisfied, because he finds there is still someone else who has more than he has.

Samadhi is very difficult to achieve. Very devoted life can achieve this stage, however if God wishes, with His blessings one can achieve Samadhi (e.g. in Mangrol even the normal people who had no faith in God achieved Samadhi)

Most transliterated (Lipi) scriptures published by Bhuj Mandir follow the IAST system and so it is important that devotees understand what it is and why we must know it to fully appreciate the original language and the sounds we are meant to produce when reading these scriptures, as the slightest variation may have a different meaning.

Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan established unique Acharyaship at Vadtal. Then He visited the beautiful city of Vadodara at the invitation of H.H. Shrimant Sayajirao-II, the ruler of Vadodara state.

Smoking of a weed called tobacco was introduced in Europe by the English travelers from America, the New World. Waller Rabigh’s name is associated with popularizing tobacco in England during the last two decades of the sixteenth century.

In all religions, there is always a focal point to ensure that the faith continues and grows in the future. In Hinduism, temples perform a vital role in acting as a focal point in the sampraday.  Lord Swaminarayan recognised that temples would be vital to ensure that the sampraday grew far and wide. Lord Himself installed the murtis at 6 temples that He constructed.

He who has realized the vision of the form of Shree Swaminarayan Bhagwan is the only person who has firmly established himself in the extreme selfless devotion i.e. divine love.

During His holy tour Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan visited the town of Botad in order to redeem the fallen and to please the holy ones. The enthusiasm of the residents of this relatively small town was so great that His visit electrified the whole town.

Lord Shree Swaminarayan has commanded that all His followers should have a Tilak Chandlo on their forehead. It should be done in four places and these are Forehead, Heart, Right Arm and Left Arm.

Varnashram Dharma is part of the 6 Dharmas There are 4 castes in Hindu Dharma including:- • Brahmin • Kshatriya • Vaishyas • Shudras

What is Prasad? What is Naivedya? What is the significance of Prasad on different festivals (e.g. Popcorn on Vasant Panchami)?

We often get told that we should not ask for anything from God, but then what is a Prayer? Is that not asking for something? Asking as such is not the problem, its asking for the for right stuff which is the key.

Why do we take off our shoes before entering the Temple? A.1 : First, Visiting a temple is quite different from visiting any other place.